Jennifer Lawrence hosted NBC’s Saturday Night Live last night and in her opening monologue that seemed a bit stiff, Lawrence poked fun at her Best Actress candidates Jessica Chastain, Emmanuelle Riva, Naomi Watts, and Quvenzhane Wallis.
Could this tip her in the right direction for Silver Linings Playbook?
Check out her opening monologue as well as the hilarious sketch about The Hobbit being made into 18 films:
Jennifer Lawrence’s Monologue

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What a crazy morning. As Oscar tends to do, they delivered their annual “WTF?” but instead of them inserting their nominees, they took out the nominees. Insane. Simply insane.
My reactions to the nominees are below:
Best Picture
• Amour
• Argo
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
• Django Unchained
• Les Miserables
• Life of Pi
• Lincoln
• Silver Linings Playbook
• Zero Dark Thirty
I’m so happy I was wrong about Amour getting trumped by all the loud December openings. It’s well deserved. The only surprise (and to some it isn’t a surprise) is Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained making the cut here over Moonrise Kingdom, who many thought would make the cut. As we trickle down through every category, and if you already saw the Best Director lineup, this looks like a race between Lincoln, Life of Pi, and Silver Linings Playbook at this point.
Prediction – 7 for 9 (missed Amour and Django for Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Moonrise, and The Master at #10)
Predicted Winner – Lincoln
Snub – Moonrise Kingdom, The Master, The Impossible
Best Achievement in Directing
• Michael Haneke – Amour
• Ang Lee – Life of Pi
• David O. Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
• Steven Spielberg – Lincoln
• Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild
I spoke about the possibility of Benh Zeitlin sneaking in for Best Director when DGA was announced and his film is a director’s type of film. What’s more insane is it came at the expense of three big Oscar favorites, Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow, and David O. Russell. When it comes to Affleck, I discussed back in November that Oscar may not have fully forgiven him or take him seriously yet as a director to be taken seriously here. It’s sad because he’s delivered three solid films under his directorial belt that are worthy of citation. I’m glad Argo managed the Picture nom though but George Clooney as a Producer probably had something to do with that more than Affleck.
I can’t explain why Bigelow missed. Is it the woman card? The controversy surrounding the film at the moment? Not sure at all. Tom Hooper directing a musical and missing makes sense. They Academy at large doesn’t go all the way for musicals unless the Weinstein Company is pushing it or its 40 years ago. Congratulations Ang Lee, you are officially in the running to win your second Directing Oscar. Russell is in the heat of the race too. Can’t believe what we [...]

BAFTA Nominations have been announced. Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln leads the nominations. Skyfall, a film we all assumed would do well managed nominations but missed Best Picture. Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables and Ang Lee’s Life of Pi also made a strong showing.
Lincoln receives ten nominations. Les Misérables and Life of Pi are each nominated in nine categories; Skyfall has eight nominations, Argo has seven nominations and Anna Karenina has six. Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty are each nominated five times.
The Master and Amour have four nominations. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey and Silver Linings Playbook have each been nominated three times. Hitchcock, Rust and Bone, The Imposter and McCullin have two nominations apiece.
Lincoln is nominated in the following categories: Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair. Daniel Day-Lewis is nominated for Leading Actor, Tommy Lee Jones is nominated for Supporting Actor and Sally Field is nominated for Supporting Actress.
Les Misérables is nominated for Best Film, Outstanding British Film, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair and Sound. Hugh Jackman is nominated for Leading Actor and Anne Hathaway for Supporting Actress.
The nine nominations for Life of Pi are in the categories Best Film, Adapted Screenplay, Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound, Special Visual Effects and Director for Ang Lee.
Argo and Zero Dark Thirty complete the Best Film lineup. Argo has six other nominations: Ben Affleck is nominated for Director and for Leading Actor and the film is nominated for Adapted Screenplay, Original Music and Editing. Alan Arkin is nominated for Supporting Actor.
Zero Dark Thirty?s other four nominations are for Original Screenplay, Editing, Director for Kathryn Bigelow and Leading Actress for Jessica Chastain.
Judi Dench and Javier Bardem are nominated as Supporting Actress and Supporting Actor for Skyfall. The film is also nominated for Original Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Outstanding British Film.
Anna Karenina is nominated for Outstanding British Film, as well as Original Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design and Make Up & Hair.
Quentin Tarantino is nominated for Director and Original Screenplay for Django Unchained. The film is nominated for Sound and for Editing and Christoph Waltz is nominated for Supporting Actor.
Emmanuelle Riva is nominated in Leading Actress for Amour, which is also nominated in Film Not in the English Language. Michael Haneke receives nominations for Director and Original Screenplay.
Also in the Original [...]

The uneducated Oscar follower will think that Michelle Williams big break came in Ang Lee’s Brokeback Mountain as Alma, the young wife that discovers her husband’s dark secret. The truth is Ms. Williams started gaining independent attention in films like The Station Agent (2003), in which she was nominated along with her co-stars for Cast Ensemble by the Screen Actors Guild Awards; she also captured attention as “Ruby” in Erik Skjoldbjærg’s Prozac Nation (2001) with Christina Ricci and as Lana in Wim Wenders’ Land of Plenty (2004), a performance that netted her a Best Actress nomination from the Independent Spirit Awards.
When Williams was cast as Alma in Lee’s film, in her minimal screen time, Williams was able to make an undeniable impression. As Alma makes her progression from a loving and devoted wife and mother to an enigma of confusion after she witnesses her husband Ennis (Heath Ledger) kissing his fishing buddy Jack Twist (Jake Gyllenhaal), Williams exhibits such control in allowing Alma to undergo the emotional narrative from confusion to regret and eventually to bewilderment and anger. Williams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress and is believed to have been second to Oscar-winner Rachel Weisz in The Constant Gardener (2005).
Following her nomination, she went right back into independent cinema, showcasing her range in I’m Not There (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), where she won the Robert Altman Award, and the impeccable performance as Wendy in Wendy & Lucy (2008), another performance nominated for an Indie Spirit.
Her second dance with Oscar would come in Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine (2010) with Ryan Gosling, as Cindy, a young woman trapped in a loveless marriage. What makes her nomination more significant is Williams missed key nominations throughout the awards season including SAG and beating stiff competition from Hilary Swank, Halle Berry, and Noomi Rapace, Williams secured her nomination and become an actor to watch.
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I was first introduced to the comedic likes of Seyfried in Mark Waters’ Mean Girls (2004) as the lovable Karen, the simple-minded teenager with an “innate” sense that it’s raining. In a film that featured the talents of Tina Fey, Rachel McAdams, and what was left of Lindsay Lohan, Seyfried is a memorable cause.
Seyfried followed her role with a small part in Rodrigo Garcia’s Nine Lives and a few other notable TV appearances and small films. Her first starring role would come in the critically pulverized Mamma Mia! (2008) opposite Academy Award Winner Meryl Streep. She would follow-up with roles in Chloe (2009), Dear John (2010), Letters to Juliet (2010), and Red Riding Hood (2011). All her films received either mixed-to-negative reviews or were ultimately forgettable.
In the role of Cosette in Hooper’s film, Seyfried exemplifies a beautiful singing voice once again in a role that some feel may have been either underdeveloped or misguided. In the film’s near finale during Valjean’s final number, a glimpse of what I like to call the “Oscar Cry”. There are a few sure-fire ways to get yourself on Oscar’s radar, and during this year-long series, I’ll be examining many of them along the way.
Awardscircucit.com: “In Line” is a series, an examination of 365 talented actors, directors, craftsman in Hollywood that may or may not be in line for an Oscar, I thought nothing better but to begin with one of the stars of Tom Hooper’s Les Miserables Amanda Seyfried.

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As we get ready to enter the brand new year, it’s never too late to get on the ball for potential Oscar contenders coming down the pike.
Chan-wook Park’s Stoker starring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska, and Matthew Goode has a new poster and early word is already positive for Wasikowska who’s been an up and comer and potential Supporting Actress nominee Kidman. The film is scheduled to be shown at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival and opens in limited release March 1, 2013.
Also releasing some beautiful character posters is Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Tobey Maguire. A few weeks back, we stumbled across the character posters for Joel Edgerton and Isla Fisher and with the latest, Mulligan’s Daisy is the most aesthetically pleasing. The film is set to open May 10, 2013.
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As the Academy Awards sent out their ballots this past Monday, Oscar Predictions were recently updated, and pundits attempt to wrap their heads around the state of the race, the term “lock” is being thrown around like popcorn. The Lead Actor race, especially stacked with talent has all but one assured nomination for Daniel Day-Lewis waiting in the wings.
As I mentioned on this week’s Power Hour, the category reminds me of the 2005 season when nine of the world’s finest actors were battling for five spots. Don Cheadle, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Clint Eastwood, and Jamie Foxx would fill the Lead Actor lineup with Paul Giamatti, a presumed lock in one of the Best Picture frontrunners, Sideways (2004), being left off.
Other notable omissions were Javier Bardem for The Sea Inside, Jim Carrey for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and Liam Neeson for Kinsey, all worthy for citations. This season is bringing up a lot of talk for the infamous “fifth spot,” a term coined for four locks in any respective group of the Academy Awards with one being available to a respective candidate.
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The stars have aligned for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. They announced their nominations for the 70th annual Golden Globe Awards. For the first time, their nominees don’t seem as blatant for trying to have the biggest stars in Hollywood join together for a dinner party. Of course, there are some glaring omissions from a few categories but many of the films and performances cited were for the most part, respectable.
Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln leads the tally with seven nominations including Best Picture and Director. Daniel Day-Lewis nabbed his seventh nomination along co-stars Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones. Lincoln remains a definite favorite to win in nearly every category. To some surprise, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained was able to grab five nominations including a double Supporting Actor citation for Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz. Tarantino was also nominated Best Director and Screenplay. Missing in the director’s field, Tom Hooper for the dynamite musical Les Miserables, which did grab four nominations in total.
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The SAG bells rang today but they rang for many surprising and jaw-dropping exclusions. As going on record stating this is the most competitive Oscar race I’ve covered in years. Not one category seems assured with their lineups and we got many curveballs thrown at us this morning.
In Best Supporting Actress, Amy Adams was left off for performance in The Master, a turn many of cited wasn’t in the same league as co-stars Joaquin Phoenix and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Sally Field in Lincoln, Anne Hathaway in Les Miserables, and Helen Hunt in The Sessions, all made their appearances as expected. With Maggie Smith announcing she wasn’t going to be campaigning, she still managed to pull in four nominations for herself including her performance in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Nicole Kidman jumped back into the race for a film that was pulverized by critics. While her role in The Paperboy is quite extraordinary, the film that surrounds her doesn’t do any favors. Older members of the Academy might find it difficult to get passed some of the more controversial scenes. Also missing big here was Ann Dowd from Compliance, something that really needed a boost from the acting branch. Many pundits have speculated on the possibility of Samantha Barks finding wiggle room into the race along side co-star Hathaway for Les Miserables. That notion may have just been put to bed.
Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master took the largest hit of the day.
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In what seems like an eternity, Tom Hooper’slong-awaited  “Les Miserables” starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, and Anne Hathaway has finally been screened and finished.  Director Hooper came out to introduce his film at the Alice Tully Theater at Lincoln Center on Friday, November 23, 2012 and explained that he had just finished the picture at 2 a.m. the evening before.  The wait was well worth it.  Les Miserables is not only stunningly powerful, and beautifully crafted, it’s the best stage musical adaptation since Rob Marshall’s Chicago (2002).  Incredibly moving and featuring some of the most powerful musical numbers ever constructed, Tom Hooper tops his previous filmThe King’s Speech (2010) with artistry and passion.
The film tells the story of Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman), a paroled prisoner in the 1800s that over the course of decades, attempts to find redemption while a police inspector Javert (Russell Crowe) pursues him relentlessly.
What astonishes me is how emotionally invested I became with the characters.  I’ve never witnessed the stage musical on Broadway so this is my first outing with the musical.  Hooper brings focus to each player and ensures they are an integral part of the story and film.  Jean Valjean is our hero, placed firmly front and center, attached to the screen and centered cinematically in the medium for all the audience to invest.  Jackman has never been better, delivering his most devoted and tender turn of his career.  His opening number “What Have I Done?” and near closing “Bring Him Home” are his shining moments showcasing a vocal master class and a sensational acting piece that will put to rest any doubts about how talented he really is.  It’s unfortunate that despite his career-topping work, the Best Actor race is incredibly competitive and even more stacked.  It’s not a sure-thing for him to be named among the nominees but a strong campaign with a constant reminder of his preparation for the role, losing 30 pounds, vocal training, etc. could push him over.
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